Sense and Sensibilities
by SeptemberMom
Summary: Alternate 5X09
1. Chapter 1

**Please read my profile page in regards to the author of this story.**

 **A/N "OK, mind cleanse! DON'T expect logic, I'm not built for it. I just dream. But DO feel free to tweet me your sense & sensibilities;) " -Red scandal_redhot **

"Yes!"

"No!"

Sitting behind her, legs propped up on the couch, he continues to plant soft kisses on her neck. She exhales and leans into him, keeping her eyes fixed on the crackling fire.

"It'll be fine," he insists.

"Three weeks, Fitz! She's coming in three weeks! I don't want to risk it."

He smiles and instinctively reaches for her huge belly. With the hope of persuading her, he gently rubs her belly while nibbling on her ear.

"It won't hurt the baby, Liv. I looked it up!"

"Ha! Don't believe everything you read on the internet... _my love_ ," she adds sarcastically.

"I'm offended! I have a whole library!" he reminds her.

She throws her hands up in the air, "Incredible! Perhaps the first sitting President to have one in his name! Those Djiboutans really love you. A couple of hours stranded in that tiny city of... what was it again?"

He rolls his eyes because he knows she knows the name of that tiny city. Her mind was sharp. She remembered everything! It scared him a little.

"Galafi..." he drawls.

"That's right. And they're naming libraries after you? What will happen when you leave office in six months? What will they do? Erect statues in your name?"

Determined to stick to the subject at hand, he lasciviously whispers in her ear, "Make jam."

She snickers and it takes all her strength to turn around to face him. She looks as though she might slap him but she surprises him by lunging for his lips. When she finally releases him, she pats his cheek and firmly asserts, "NO!"

"Oh c'mon! It'll help with the discomfort too. I promise you. Dr. Leibowitz says..."

"You asked her?!" she interjects.

"I had to!" he nods.

She's both speechless and amused. He jumps on the opportunity to convince her once and for all.

"...how, where, and in what positions... all of it!" He grabs her hand and deliberately caresses her palm. "Don't you trust me? Let me love you, Livvie."

He holds her chin up to him and when their eyes lock, she's completely lost to the heat building up within her. The doctor had advised they shy away from sex due to a difficult third trimester...antepartum hemorrhaging. They discovered she was anaemic and Fitz had been such a pain in the ass about her iron supplements. A sweet pain in the ass, but it had been a month and it honestly felt like an eternity. She wanted him too, just as much as he wanted her, if not more! Pregnancy hormones! It felt like she was on steroids. What was she so scared of anyway? Dr. Leibowitz had given them the green light three days ago. And Fitz would take care of her. He always did! Everything inside of her is burning for him. To feel the full strength of his masculinity thrusting deeper and deeper into her. As she clings onto his curls, begging him not to stop. His hands skillfully finding their way to her center and her heart pounding with each caress. Until her head is as full as her heart. Her entire body encapsulated in ardent flames and oozing lave, her only deliverance, assured eruption. The mere thought saturates her with desire and before she allows her fears to get the best of her, she takes his hand and moves it to her breast. He squeezes...hard...reveling in it's new found plumpness. She cries out in ecstatic agony as he frantically takes off her clothes...

Some thirty minutes later they're both on the floor, leaning against the couch, panting and sweating as though it weren't raining ice outside. Holding hands, they gaze at each other and grin.

"Wow!"

"Wow!"

"I mean, before it was...and then it was...now it's..."

He nods in agreement, "pregnancy sex is..."

"...deserving of it's hype," she completes.

"Of course you've already experienced it, three times," she adds jealously.

He shakes his head nonchalantly. "Never this pregnant; and actually, she wouldn't let me touch her." Olivia is strangely delighted and sickened all at once. Some things were simply inexplicable. For example, how any woman could look at this man by her side and not want to...

"Wanna go again?"

He immediately buries himself in her bosom letting her know she didn't have to ask twice. They make love and discuss life after the White House until the baby is kicking for a very different kind of sustenance.

It is 9 o'clock at night and Olivia slowly walks into the kitchen where Fitz is seasoning two pieces of fresh salmon. She suddenly looks wan and exhausted. When he sees her struggling to walk he immediately runs to her side.

"Are you o'kay? Is it the baby?"

"This baby is going to kill my bladder!" she jokes. Nonetheless, he can see pain through her smile and insists she rest on the couch while he whips up something fast. Throughout dinner she's restless and just picks at her food. He is resolute that they head upstairs to sleep but she convinces him to snuggle by the couch for a while. Although he's suspicious that it is because she has little strength to walk up the stairs. He relents, and rubs her feet, more in an effort to ease his own worries than soothe her discomfort. He's alarmed when she jolts up in agony. She's holding her stomach and the excruciating pain is evident on her fragile-looking face. He's panicked, unsure of what to do... waiting for a signal from her.

"Fitz, I think the baby is coming..." she manages.


	2. Chapter 2

"No, that's impossible! She's not due and your water didn't even break," his voice trails, uncertain of whether he was trying to convince her or himself.

"Maybe...it...did...," she whispers through the pain.

"What?! When?"

"I felt something... something unusual... in the bathroom... two hours ago...I didn't think..."

"YOU DIDN'T THINK? OLIVIA! ...Why didn't you tell me?" he says more softly.

She is suddenly irritable and yells back,

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WANTED TO HAVE SEX! I TOLD YOU! YOU POKED THE BABY!"

He squints his eyes and furrows his eyebrows, questioning whether she's lost her mind. She wasn't making any sense and that worried him. He wasn't about to argue with a woman in labor.

"O'kay, it's fine. Just..." he glances out the window and it looks dreadful. Whereas before it was just raining ice, now it is a torrential downpour. What to do? The plan was a whole wing at James Madison in three weeks, lots of drugs, an epidural; not Vermont impromptu! Panic sets in. He kneels down and brushes her hair away from her face.

"Can you tell how far apart the contractions are?"

"They're close. Maybe 15 minutes apart. I think I can feel her head!" she complains.

"Hold on, it's going to be o'kay."

"BURT! HENRY! Can you guys come in here, quickly?!"

The Secret Service Agents scurry to the President's side and are taken aback, only momentarily, by the President's **very** casual attire.

"How quickly can you get us to the nearest hospital?"

The agents eye each other and one of them is finally brave enough to reveal,

"All highways have been closed, Sir. The Governor has issued a State of Emergency about three hours ago. We could try to get the two of you out of here but in this weather, it could be... maybe an hour or more."

"Then get the chopper ready. I'm the President of the United States and I should be able to get my wife to a damn hospital! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"

"Sir, it might be difficult..."

"JUST GET IT DONE! I WON'T LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO MY LIVVIE... and my baby." Fitz looks dejected, and is completely frustrated that his hands are tied. "I'm sorry... it's just that..."

"Fitz..." Olivia calls. All three men turn to look at the pitiful creature on the couch, and Burt and Henry watch as their President holds back tears.

"I need a doctor, midwife, **someone** qualified to deliver this baby ...in here, ...NOW. Can you do that?"

"We'll get right on that, Sir."

Fitz leaps back to Olivia and grabs her hand. She squeezes it tightly as a new contraction kicks in. She is panting and beads of sweat lace her forehead.

"Breath baby. Just like we did in all those Lamaze classes... 1...2...3... ." Fitz tries to leave her side to check the progress of his agents and their search for a midwife or medical person, but Liv grips on to him.

"The baby... 10 minutes apart...Fitz..."

Fitz immediately yells for Henry, "Well?!"

"Twenty minutes, Sir!"

"Fine. Can you wake Maria? Tell her to bring me three small towels and warm water."

As Henry moves in search of the Vermont Estate's housekeeper, Fitz turns to Olivia and kisses her forehead. Without really expecting a response he laments, "Why did you insist on Vermont in such a conditions? And look outside now. I knew this was a terrible idea. But I can't seem to say ' _no'_ to you!"

She squeezes his hand gently and responds, "It's the first Christmas in a long time that I wasn't going to feel alone; and I wanted to be alone."

He smiles weakly, "You're not making any sense again."

"Alone together, silly; with you and our baby, ...to lose the noise."

The tears he had been holding back now fall freely as he quickly kisses her.

"We're gonna be o'kay. The doctor should be here soon. You should lie on your left side. You'll breathe better." Before she can ask him how he knows that Henry returns with Maria and the requested items. They make her as comfortable as possible for what seems to be an eternity to Fitz.

"Where's the doctor?!" he bellows.

"Sir, he's not answering his phone. Perhaps something happened on they way and..."

Fitz holds up his hand informing the agent he'd heard enough. He was distressed as he looked down at a weakening Olivia. Fitz pauses for a few moments to think. As if he has suddenly been hit with a stroke of genius, his eyes alight and he leaps up, ready to take charge. Olivia watches in astonishment as he begins barking orders about mattresses, shower curtains, buckets of water, towels, blankets, and alcohol. She feels her life and her body are not her own at this moment, surely this is happening to someone else.

"Fitz, what are you doing?"

"Delivering our baby!" he announces ceremoniously.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?"

"No, I just started thinking, ...it's me! I'm the 'someone qualified'!" He continues to prepare for the delivery while she looks on in dismay. "I've been to three births, i've read and i've watched videos... LOTS OF THEM! Library!" he reminds her again.

"That doesn't make you a doctor!"

"It certainly doesn't... but... ready?"

Before she knows it, Olivia is on her back on a mattress, knees up. Maria is wiping her forehead as Fitz encourages Olivia to push. Push... breath... rest... push... breath...rest... it felt like she had repeated the steps a million times, until she's crying, watching Fitz hook a finger under the baby's umbilical cord to loosen it from her neck. As soon as he places a finger outside the baby's nostrils, she begins to scream and Fitz sighs in relief. He wipes her off and wraps her up in a warm blanket.

"What time is it, Maria?"

"Half past midnight, Sir!"

Fitz looks down in awe at his precious angel. Was she really here? Already? This was crazy.

"Merry Christmas, baby! Come say 'hi' to mommy." He takes her to Olivia, who is too weak to hold her just yet. She simply stares at her baby and Fitz, with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.

"We did it. Merry Christmas, swee...," but a whole new panic sets in as his Livvie passes out. He hands Maria the baby and quickly comes to Liv's side. "Liv? Olivia?! What happened? Wake up! Please, wake up." He lightly splashes her face with water to no avail. "No, no, no, don't do this to me. You can't... not now. OLIVIA!" He grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her lifeless form to him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Wake up...wake up...wake up... please..," he pleads.

"Sir, she is bleeding profusely," Maria warns.

Fitz leaps to his feet as his mind goes into overdrive.

"NO! This can't be happening. Burt! Henry! We are driving. **I** am driving!"

"With all due respect, Sir, I don't think you are in any condition to drive."

"I AM YOUR COMMANDER IN CHIEF. I GIVE THE ORDERS, I DON'T TAKE THEM; IS THAT CLEAR?!"

Silence.

"IS THAT CLEAR?"

"Yes, Sir."

They clean up and tend to Olivia as best they can and then begin heading to the garage. With Liv in his arms and the baby in Maria's he changes his mind.

"O'kay, you drive." He wasn't about to leave her side for even a second. As they make their way to the hospital Fitz pleads with God.

 _"...hello? Are you up there? You can't be this cruel. When we're finally happy? Our baby needs her mother. We deserve to be happy. Don't take her away from us. Please.."_

There had been a break in the weather long enough to allow plows to clear some of the main highways. This allowed them to arrive at the hospital faster than Fitz had anticipated. Grateful. He rushes them in through the emergency room doors and hands his girls over to the awaiting medical personnel. And then, he waits. And he waits. He waits for what seems like an eternity but in reality has only been about twenty minutes, when the doctor comes to a distressed Fitz.

"Doctor! How is she?"

"She has lost a lot of blood. We're doing everything we can, Mr. President."

"That's not enough! You don't understand. **She is everything**! She is **everything** **to me** , and I can not lose her... I would never forgive myself if...

"You did everything right, Sir. According to the medical records we received from Dr. Leibowitz, your wife has a rare blood type, O-, and because of the hemorrhaging before, the baby's blood mixed with hers causing your wife's body to produce antibodies against the baby's positive blood type."

"Speak plainly, doctor!"

"Don't blame yourself for this."

Fitz seems unconvinced.

"...and my baby?"

"She's a miracle. Perfectly healthy! Just a little under 5 pounds," the doctor smiles brightly at the new daddy.

From nowhere, the lights turn off and then back on again.

"What's happening?"

"Nothing to worry about, that's just the generator kicking in. The power has been flickering off and on all night because of the ice storm. Come with me, i'll take you to your wife."

"Doctor, I want her with us. Our baby... ." The doctor starts to protest but Fitz insists.

"It'll help my wife if our baby is there."

"Alright, i'll see what I can arrange."

"Thank you, doctor."

Fitz sits at his wife's bedside for what seems like another eternity. She still has not awoken. Finally, two nurses come to them with the incubator housing their small infant. They leave the incubator at Olivia's bedside. Fitz looks at his girls. They both seem so small and frail, and yet so peaceful. As Fitz approaches the incubator his baby girl awakens and fusses a little. Daddy is tempted to let his baby's small cries go on for a moment, hoping it will awaken mommy but he can't refuse her.

"Looks like I can't say _'no'_ to you either... my little miracle. What would your mom think if I named you Miracle? ...hmm?" He gently kisses her forehead and takes her to Olivia. "Wake up, sweetheart, and meet little Miracle. Sweetheart? I know how much you hate when I call you that. So wake up and chide me. Tell me how generic it is." With baby in hand, Fitz looks at his wife expectantly... certain that she would wake right then and there... he is disappointed. "Mommy is always so stubborn," he complains to the peaceful baby.

"No, i'm not," she whispers, hoarsely.

Fitz's elation is subtle, quiet. As though he'd spent the entire night running around without a destination and he'd finally arrived; home.

"Hi."

"Hi. You can call me _sweetheart_ for the rest of our days but our baby's name is, Lia."

"Lia?"

"Lia," she confirms.

As Liv rolls to her side he tucks baby Lia into the curve of her body allowing mother and baby to meet face to face, finally.

The doctor comes to check on his patient, "And how is our First Family doing?"

"We're fine doctor!" Fitz happily replies. "When can I take them home?"

"It's 4 o'clock in the morning, Sir, and we still need to run a few tests."

"Run whatever tests you like but my baby is not spending her first Christmas in hospital. Right, sweetheart?" He looks to Olivia for support. She smiles at him then looks to the doctor.

"Forgive him, doctor. When my husband sets his mind on something there is no changing it." Fitz nods in agreement.

"Fine. Ten more minutes, then I'll need my tests."

"Twenty!"

The doctor walks out shaking his head, but honored; so much love in the little family.

Olivia is already nursing the baby and Fitz looks on in awe of the whole process.

"Lia Hope Grant?"

Olivia purses her lips and amends, "Lia Hope Pope-Grant."

They both gaze at her. Her little hands attempting to grab at her mother's breast as she suckles.

"Have you ever seen such a perfect thing in your life?" he asks.

She shakes her head, "No."

 **A/N:**

 **"Sometimes "No" is just the perfect word. And there you have it! A Christmas Miracle! Sense & Sensibilities now welcome;) "**

 **Leave comments/reviews here, or find me on twitter scandal_redhot ("family photos" posted there)**

 **"It might seem implausible but I can so see Fitz being that guy, who knows how to deliver a baby. #AnythingForLiv "**


End file.
